Tom Holland-led Fred Astaire Biopic - News & Discussion Thread

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 2/13/23 at 10:52am

Paul King, the director of the Paddington movies, is putting on his dancing shoes.

King has come aboard to direct Sony Pictures’ untitled Fred Astaire drama that has Tom Holland attached to star as the golden age film and dance star.

Amy Pascal, Rachael O’Conner, Ben Holden and Josh Hyams are producing. 

Sony is keeping the logline details under the top hat, but it is known that the project centers on the relationship between Astaire and his sister, Adele Astaire. The two were inseparable for more than 20 years, moving out of a simple Midwestern vaudeville act in the early part of the 20th Century to Broadway and London’s West end in the 1920s. Adele Astaire was initially the face of the act but eventually, Fred Astaire’s consummate stage skills eclipsed hers. The duo parted in 1932 when the sister married, which was a blow to Fred, but it also thrust him onto the path of Hollywood dance musicals, and subsequently into cinema immortality.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/tom-holland-fred-astaire-movie-sony-paul-king-director-1235323540/

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 2/13/23 at 11:58am

I love me a good ol' dueling biopic situation, and this looks like a prime one. I like that both of these seem to be focusing on Astaire's relationships with women in his life, and at different stages in his career.

Could be interesting.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/13/23 at 12:22pm

It's funny there are 2 different Astaire biopics in the works right now, both with news announced today. The other one doesn't have distribution yet but would star Jamie Bell as Fred and Margaret Qualley as Ginger, with choreo by Christopher Wheeldon and songs by Emily Bear & Abigail Barlow. Distribution aside, that one seems farther along than the Sony/Holland/Paul King Astaire film (which is now being rewritten by Lee Hall).

https://deadline.com/2023/02/jamie-bell-fred-astaire-ginger-rogers-biopic-margaret-qualley-efm-1235257633/

Updated On: 2/13/23 at 12:22 PM

[LALALand]

Posted: 2/13/23 at 3:48pm

Reminds me of the competing Janis Joplin biopics in the mid-1990s.  One with Melissa Etheridge and the other with Lily Taylor. In the end, neither film was made.

[Impeach2017]

Posted: 2/13/23 at 4:25pm

One wonders if the ex-jockey got her cut, or if she''s still blocking all usage of his image.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 2/13/23 at 4:27pm

LALALand said: "Reminds me of the competing Janis Joplin biopics in the mid-1990s. One with Melissa Etheridge and the other with Lily Taylor. In the end, neither film was made."

Janis Biopics have had no luck. Renee Zelwegger, Pink, Courtney Love, Amy Adams, and Nina Arianda have all been attached to one at one point or another and I don't think any of them have gotten off the ground.

[JSquared2]

Posted: 2/13/23 at 4:45pm

nasty_khakis said: "LALALand said: "Reminds me of the competing Janis Joplin biopics in the mid-1990s. One with Melissa Etheridge and the other with Lily Taylor. In the end, neither film was made."

Janis Biopics have had no luck. Renee Zelwegger, Pink, Courtney Love, Amy Adams, and Nina Arianda have all been attached to one at one point or another and I don't think any of them have gotten off the ground."

 

They already made a Joplin "semi" biopic -- THE ROSE.

 

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 11/30/23 at 4:29pm

"The movie is being developed. Scripts are being written. Meetings are being had. Like anything in the film industry, whether it happens or not is another thing, but we are working towards it as if it is happening. Hopefully, we can find a way to tell the story in the way it needs to be told. I’d love to put my tap shoes on again and to portray that character, but we’ll have to wait and see."

https://collider.com/tom-holland-fred-astaire-biopic

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 12/1/23 at 8:23am

Truly hoping this one comes into fruition. As he mentioned, scripts being written and meetings taking place means zero as countless projects have been shelved with directors attached already, etc.